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Young at Heart

1/29/2015

Earlier this month I traveled to Little Cranberry Island off the coast of Acadia National Park in Maine to do some shooting for a short film I'm working on. I spent three days visiting with Ashley Bryan, celebrated author, poet, artist and storyteller who - some 70 years ago! - was a college buddy of my dad's at Cooper Union. I met Ashley in 2009 after my mom serendipitously bumped into him while on vacation in Bar Harbor. Ashley is one of those people who just sparkles. He has a heart of gold, a perpetual twinkle in his eye, and a deep, smooth voice that inflects the slightest hint of a British accent (even though he is from the Bronx!). After three or four prior visits to Little Cranberry, I knew that the focus of my film would be on Ashley's youthful spirit. How does someone in their 90s stay so young at heart? What fountain of youth has he discovered? What is his secret? And how can I capture it on camera?

“People say that the most tragic thing in life is the death of a child,” Ashley told me, “so don’t let the child within you die.” At 91 years-young, he really practices what he preaches. His home is stuffed to the gills with a toy collection more than 80 years in the making. It includes gadgets, figurines, puppets, carvings, trinkets, collectibles, antiques, ornaments, artwork, and everything in between, all meticulously arranged and displayed on shelves throughout his home.

I thought that documenting Ashley's collection could be a way to portray his youthful spirit. My plan was to punctuate moments in his life through his favorite toys and try to understand the significance behind the most special ones - his favorites. This idea was detoured when Ashley informed me - many times, actually - that he doesn't have favorites. "But surely there must be one or two that are extra special," I encouraged. "No," he maintained, "no toy is more special than the other. I appreciate the joy in each of them." He was steadfast.

The more we spoke about it, the more it occurred to me that Ashley's take on toys is the same as his take on people. In fact, I realized, my visit was a perfect example. There I was... the daughter of a friend he had known (and subsequently fallen out of touch with) seven decades earlier, staying as an overnight guest in his home. And there he was... giving me fresh towels, preparing tea and sandwiches for me, and opening up his life to me... all so that I could make the film I wanted to make. In fact, he only agreed to let me do the project in first place on the basis that it would help advance my work as an artist.

So, in staying true to the nature of documentary, my original focus for this project has shifted significantly! But I have a feeling the new angle will be better than my original one. Thank you, Ashley, for reminding me how important it is to keep the little girl inside me alive. It is with her in mind that I vow to HAVE FUN while creating this film. Now, on to the edit! About 200 GB of footage awaits...

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A Look Back on 2014

1/12/2015

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Okay, so it's not exactly the New Year anymore. But... since this is my first post in 2015, I'm going to cheat that a little. Twenty-fourteen was a really great year. Highlights included:

Leaving my corporate editing position at athenahealth, where I had worked for the previous two years. This was a big move for me, as I had comfortably settled into my role there and really loved my production team, as well as the proximity of the office to my house (only 3/4 of a mile away!). However, the call for more challenging documentary work rang loud, and I decided to return to the unpredictable world of freelancing - a decision I am (so far) very glad I made!
Living part-time in Norwich, VT to work with filmmaker Liz Canner on a very important documentary (Silent U.) about the crisis of sexual assault on college campuses today.
My first political campaign video - which apparently paid off! - for politician extraordinaire and Massachusetts' new Attorney General, Maura Healey. I thought I had died and gone to heaven when Jim Braude played the spot on Broadside! :)
Doing some editing for The Mystery of Matter, a PBS Nova about the history of chemistry. The show included a lot of reenactment. Working with footage of actors was new and different for me... but lots of fun! Plus I learned a lot about something I previously knew nothing about. The show will air sometime this spring.
Joining the Non-Fiction Cartel, a working collaborative that supports short form documentary media-making in New England.
Getting hired to teach filmmaking courses at my alma mater, BU... I can't wait!!!

And - as usual - doing LOTS of traveling… trips included: Eleuthera, Bahamas, Montreal, Los Angeles, NYC, D.C., the Yucatan Peninsula, South Dakota, Maine, Pennsylvania, and - of course - the Jersey Shore :) Now where to in 2015...

So… 2014 was wonderful, and I am super-excited to see what 2015 has in store.

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Young at Heart

A Look Back on 2014

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